Driving forward together

Having a strong togetherness in the squad can only help Nottingham Forest build some consistency, according to defender Michael Dawson.

The Reds look to pick up back-to-back home wins against Stoke City on Saturday and Dawson believes that there is a strong group of players in the dressing room.

He said: "We have a real togetherness with this group of players. Everyone in the dressing room wants to play, come Saturday everyone wants to be on the team sheet but the manager can only pick 11 players and 18 in the squad.

"We are all striving for the same thing that come the end of the season be right up there with a chance of promotion. You can't do that single-handedly or be single-minded, you have got to help each other. We got on well off the pitch too, have some good banter and we have a good dressing room."

With Stoke already having visited The City Ground this season in the Carabao Cup, Dawson knows that it won't make too much of a difference as The Reds get ready to welcome Gary Rowett's side.

He said: "We always do a lot of work at the training ground, watching a lot of videos of how they will play so you know what you will be up against.

"Whether it will make a difference or not that we have played them already in the cup, we'll see on Saturday, but Stoke are a team that have some top players.

"They got relegated from the Premier League last season and it does take some time to settle in. They probably haven't had the start that they wanted but they are not a million miles away along with some other teams.

"The table can change as quickly as roses; it can look good but then it can go the other way. You have to keep level headed and keep picking points up along the way."